The Jesus Nobody Wants
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.”—Romans 1:18
Very rarely do people dislike Jesus. They may dislike His followers, but very rarely do they dislike Him. That is, however, until they consider Him in His fullness. God is love (1 John 4:8), but God is also a God of wrath (Romans 1:18). Consider this for a moment: if Jesus is the Son of God (He is), then He is one with God the Holy Spirit and God the Father. If He is one with God the Father and with God the Holy Spirit, then He is everything that they are in themselves. Which is to say, that He is the God who is love, but He is also the God who is wrathful.
There are many who like Jesus, but their picture of Him is incomplete, like a partially developed photo—or a paint-by-numbers picture, but only the “1’s” and “2’s” are filled in. Many want Jesus as the loving, forgiving God, who is always there for us (He is), but there is more. Jesus loved the unlovely, yes, but He also laid down the gauntlet for following Him and wasn’t afraid to show His wrath when confronted by wickedness and sin. Think for a moment when He was in the Temple courts and the religious leaders who were in charge were allowing some dubious practices to go on and were making money on the side. Jesus made a whip and went to town driving out the moneychangers and all of those who were defiling the Temple (John 2:13-17).
Jesus had no patience for religious hypocrisy. He was merciful to the sinners who came in deep repentance seeking mercy, but for those who came with their religious badges of honor and self-righteousness, He gave the once over, reserving for them such terms as “hypocrites” (Matthew 23:13), “children of hell” (Matthew 23:15), “blind guides” (Matthew 23:16), and “white washed tombs” (Matthew 23:27). Jesus was not afraid to turn people away. He didn’t coddle people. For example, He told the rich young ruler that the cost of following Him was to sell everything that he had to feed the poor, but the man couldn’t do it, because he loved his riches more than anything else. In essence, Jesus' command for him to sell everything revealed the state of his heart—that he was an idolater whose money was his god (Mark 10:17-22).
Jesus is the God of wrath. I don’t think that many like to think of Him as such, but He is. He is the God of wrath who will at the end of time send people to hell. Jesus spoke a great deal on the subject of hell. And the pictures of Him coming in judgment are awesome and mighty. Consider for a moment this quote from Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington. He identifies what is lacking in our thoughts about Jesus:
“What is lacking, however, is the understanding that when we see Jesus, He will not appear as a humble, marginalized Galilean peasant. Rather, we will see the exalted, tattooed King of Kings coming with fire blazing in His eyes and a sword launching from His mouth, with which to make war upon the unrepentant. Until the day of Jesus’ second coming, we are not merely to relate to people but also to command them to repent of sin and bend their knee to the King before they are grapes crushed under His foot in the winepress of His fury”—Mark Driscoll, Confessions of a Reformission Rev., p. 43.
The book of Revelation presents an awesome and fearful picture of Jesus’ second coming. He will be bringing justice and delivering His wrath unto all of those who have rejected His message and who loved their wickedness more than His love.
God is loving, merciful, faithful, and compassionate, but He is also the God of wrath who will judge every single sin we have ever done. For those who have rejected Christ, their eternal state will be spent in horrors that words cannot capture, but for those who have placed their trust and faith in Christ, He will give His heavenly kingdom—a kingdom for which the greatest pleasures of this world are simply warm-up acts.
My brother or sister, the only way to escape the wrath of God is to embrace the love of God in repentance and faith. God hates the hypocritical, but loves those who come with contrite and broken hearts in repentance and faith. Take a few moments to thank the Lord for extending His mercy to you. This God of wrath has given Christ for your sins and mine, and we look forward to the day when we will be with Him in eternity, adoring Him for who He is and what He has done, knowing that He has put an end to wickedness, and has given us the opportunity to spend eternity with Him in righteousness. Amen.
Very rarely do people dislike Jesus. They may dislike His followers, but very rarely do they dislike Him. That is, however, until they consider Him in His fullness. God is love (1 John 4:8), but God is also a God of wrath (Romans 1:18). Consider this for a moment: if Jesus is the Son of God (He is), then He is one with God the Holy Spirit and God the Father. If He is one with God the Father and with God the Holy Spirit, then He is everything that they are in themselves. Which is to say, that He is the God who is love, but He is also the God who is wrathful.
There are many who like Jesus, but their picture of Him is incomplete, like a partially developed photo—or a paint-by-numbers picture, but only the “1’s” and “2’s” are filled in. Many want Jesus as the loving, forgiving God, who is always there for us (He is), but there is more. Jesus loved the unlovely, yes, but He also laid down the gauntlet for following Him and wasn’t afraid to show His wrath when confronted by wickedness and sin. Think for a moment when He was in the Temple courts and the religious leaders who were in charge were allowing some dubious practices to go on and were making money on the side. Jesus made a whip and went to town driving out the moneychangers and all of those who were defiling the Temple (John 2:13-17).
Jesus had no patience for religious hypocrisy. He was merciful to the sinners who came in deep repentance seeking mercy, but for those who came with their religious badges of honor and self-righteousness, He gave the once over, reserving for them such terms as “hypocrites” (Matthew 23:13), “children of hell” (Matthew 23:15), “blind guides” (Matthew 23:16), and “white washed tombs” (Matthew 23:27). Jesus was not afraid to turn people away. He didn’t coddle people. For example, He told the rich young ruler that the cost of following Him was to sell everything that he had to feed the poor, but the man couldn’t do it, because he loved his riches more than anything else. In essence, Jesus' command for him to sell everything revealed the state of his heart—that he was an idolater whose money was his god (Mark 10:17-22).
Jesus is the God of wrath. I don’t think that many like to think of Him as such, but He is. He is the God of wrath who will at the end of time send people to hell. Jesus spoke a great deal on the subject of hell. And the pictures of Him coming in judgment are awesome and mighty. Consider for a moment this quote from Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington. He identifies what is lacking in our thoughts about Jesus:
“What is lacking, however, is the understanding that when we see Jesus, He will not appear as a humble, marginalized Galilean peasant. Rather, we will see the exalted, tattooed King of Kings coming with fire blazing in His eyes and a sword launching from His mouth, with which to make war upon the unrepentant. Until the day of Jesus’ second coming, we are not merely to relate to people but also to command them to repent of sin and bend their knee to the King before they are grapes crushed under His foot in the winepress of His fury”—Mark Driscoll, Confessions of a Reformission Rev., p. 43.
The book of Revelation presents an awesome and fearful picture of Jesus’ second coming. He will be bringing justice and delivering His wrath unto all of those who have rejected His message and who loved their wickedness more than His love.
God is loving, merciful, faithful, and compassionate, but He is also the God of wrath who will judge every single sin we have ever done. For those who have rejected Christ, their eternal state will be spent in horrors that words cannot capture, but for those who have placed their trust and faith in Christ, He will give His heavenly kingdom—a kingdom for which the greatest pleasures of this world are simply warm-up acts.
My brother or sister, the only way to escape the wrath of God is to embrace the love of God in repentance and faith. God hates the hypocritical, but loves those who come with contrite and broken hearts in repentance and faith. Take a few moments to thank the Lord for extending His mercy to you. This God of wrath has given Christ for your sins and mine, and we look forward to the day when we will be with Him in eternity, adoring Him for who He is and what He has done, knowing that He has put an end to wickedness, and has given us the opportunity to spend eternity with Him in righteousness. Amen.
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